[PRCo] pat

[Jim Holland]

Pittsburgh  Tribune Review

Port Authority Pay

Thursday, October 19, 2006

I am surprised that Allegheny County Councilman Matt Drozd sees the Port 
Authority's salary figures as "outrageous" ("Port Authority defends 
overtime 
<http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/today/s_475133.html>," 
Oct. 15 and PghTrib.com).

What is wrong with earning a living wage to support your family and 
being paid for overtime if you elect to take it?       As to the 
management salaries, they would certainly be much higher in the private 
sector.

Has Mr. Drozd forgotten that the $138 million in wage dollars that the 
Port Authority spends comes right back into the local economy?       The 
3,056 employees use that money to buy homes in this area.       They pay 
property taxes and sales tax.       They buy groceries, pay for dance 
class and sports registrations.       They pay for braces and car 
repairs.       They are your neighbors.       Perhaps, Mr. Drozd, your 
efforts would be better spent working on dedicated funding for the Port 
Authority because Allegheny County needs a transit system and 
decent-paying jobs and the Port Authority needs to pay people to come to 
work.

Stephanie Zoffel
Penn Hills

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/search/s_475633.html


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Pittsburgh  Post-Gazette


    Yellow cabs willing to pay to use busways

Friday, October 20, 2006

By Joe Grata, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Buses that enjoy some of their own highways into Pittsburgh soon could 
be sharing them with taxis, vans and even commercial vehicles.

The Pittsburgh Transportation Group, which includes more than 300 Yellow 
cabs, says it would like to use the Port Authority's exclusive busways 
and is willing to pay for the privilege.

Yellow Cab Co. President Jamie Campolongo delivered the message to Dan 
Onorato yesterday when the county chief executive visited the company's 
North Side headquarters for lunch and "Driver Appreciation Day."

Mr. Onorato is interested. And so is the Port Authority: "We'd certainly 
be glad to take a look at that,'' said authority spokesman Bob Grove.

Mr. Campolongo said his cabs, airport limos, airport shuttle buses and 
ACCESS vehicles that run under Port Authority aegis could save time and 
money, improve transportation efficiency, save fuel and reduce pollution.

In turn, he said, Pittsburgh Transportation Group would consider paying 
an annual fee similar to the $600 per vehicle and $1 per trip that it 
pays for operating access at Pittsburgh International Airport.

The West Busway and Martin Luther King Jr. East Busway provide exclusive 
bypasses of the Fort Pitt and Squirrel Hill tunnels on the 
traffic-congested Parkway West and Parkway East, respectively.

Mr. Onorato said he's not only receptive to the idea but it fits into 
his plans to maximize use of transportation facilities as part of 
public-private partnerships.

"It sounds great in theory, but they'll have to be willing to pay," he 
said.

"That's what we need to find out first. The Transportation Task Force 
(that he formed earlier this year) is looking at the matter," not only 
for Public Utility Commission-regulated vehicles like taxis but also for 
private companies like UPS and FedEx.

Issues that would have to be settled besides fees that would provide a 
new source of revenue for the cash-strapped Port Authority include 
special operator training, liability insurance and possible new safety 
rules.

Currently, 383 buses a weekday use the West Busway and about 956 buses a 
day use the East Busway.

Mr. Campolongo said his company's drivers are already trained to 
authority standards and subject to some of the same rules, such as drug 
testing.

He estimated using the West Busway to and from the airport could cut an 
average of 20 minutes off rush-hour trips and reduce cab fares by 20 
percent. The one-way taxi fare between the Pittsburgh Hilton and the 
airport is now about $32.50.

Mr. Campolongo said comparable time and money savings could be achieved 
if ACCESS vehicles could use the busways. The door-to-door, 
advance-reservation rides are the most heavily subsidized service in the 
authority's operating budget.

Mr. Campolongo said he approached authority officials about using the 
West Busway shortly after it was opened in 2000 but was told the extra 
traffic was not evaluated as part of an environmental impact statement 
needed to qualify for federal funding.

Instead, Pittsburgh Transportation Group vehicles that serve 85 percent 
of passengers at the "commercial curbs" at the airport are stuck in -- 
and contribute to -- the traffic jams on both sides of the Fort Pitt Tunnel.

"Going east is murder," Mr. Campolongo said, when cabs, vans and 
shuttles could be sharing the 9.3-mile East Busway to the eastern part 
of the city, Wilkinsburg, Edgewood and Swissvale.

He said the company's approximately 600 vehicles, ranging from stretch 
limousines to full-size buses, log more than 30 million passenger miles 
a year.

The taxis alone carry about 1 million riders.

Pittsburgh Transportation Group owns and operates Embassy Coach, Yellow 
Cab, Pittsburgh Transportation Co., Checker Cab Co. and Express Shuttle USA.

Mr. Grove of the Port Authority said sharing the South Busway is 
probably out of the question because it's already crowded with buses and 
light-rail vehicles in a narrow corridor through South Hills Junction 
and the Mount Washington Transit Tunnel.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06293/731526-147.stm